One of the biggest draws to The White Lotus is the way creator Mike White manages to write characters that feel real.
In the latest season — which takes place in Thailand — the whole new cast of talented actors were determined to continue the show’s legacy. With White’s encouragement and suggestion, they got to work researching their characters and, in a few cases, based their performance on real-life people from the entertainment world.
For some, it was about catching up on beloved reality television shows to perfect particular accents, and for others, it was about getting into the mind space of their character.
Which White Lotus actors took inspiration from real people?
Sam Niovla
Sam Nivola, who plays youngest child Lochlan Ratliff in The White Lotus season three, has admitted that he was required to do a bit of homework before filming kicked off.
Speaking to PEOPLE, Nivola revealed that White had instructed him and a few of his colleagues to tune into Bravo’s hit reality show Southern Charm to get a better grasp of the unique culture and accent of the fictional family.
However, there was one star who wasn’t instructed to watch the show: southern-born Sarah Catherine Hook, who plays Piper Ratliff.
“I’m from Alabama. I was like, ‘Mike didn’t tell me to watch Southern Charm! I’m feeling left out,” she said.
Jason Isaacs
In the same interview with PEOPLE, Nivola shared that Jason Isaacs, who plays his father, Timothy Ratliff, used the Southern Charm cast as inspiration too.
“Jason Isaacs, who played our dad, kind of modelled his whole accent and character off of [that cast],” Nivola said.
Speaking to HBO Max, Isaacs revealed that his process when approaching a character was always starting with the voice of his character. And, when it came to Timothy Ratliff, he found a specific accent from Durham, North Carolina.
According to Southern Charm star Cameran Eubanks, UK-born Isaacs absolutely nailed the southern twang.
“Many of yall are echoing what I thought as soon as I heard the dad speak: ‘Damn, he sounds like [Southern Charm star] Thomas Ravenel!’” she wrote on her Instagram Stories after the first episode premiered.
“That dialect is NOT North Carolina. It’s old Charleston.”
Leslie Bibb
During an interview with Bravo king Andy Cohen, Leslie Bibb revealed that she turned to The Real Housewives to inform her White Lotus character Kate.
For reference, Bibb plays a conservative Texan mum who realises that she’s grown apart from her childhood friends during their girlie-pop getaway.
“I was watching the Real Housewives always before scenes. Sometimes I’d just watch it and I just see what seeps in. That sounds crazy. And then I don’t even know what’s permeating,” she said.
“A lot of Beverly Hills was happening, and that felt in the right world. Maybe a little OC. Maybe there’s a little Heather Dubrow in her.”
Heather Dubrow is one of the most prominent members of The Real Housewives Of Orange County who has been a hit on the show for eight seasons.
Parker Posey
In The White Lotus season three, Parker Posey plays the iconic waspy housewife Victoria Ratliff. Arguably, her accent is the best one on the show.
In a chat with Variety, Posey shared that she took inspiration from US actor James Spader and his distinctive vocal tone.
You can catch The White Lotus seasons one and two — and the new episodes of season three — on BINGE.
